Zarathustrian Bible

Chapter VIII

1. These, then, are the Zarathustrian laws; the I'hua'Mazdian laws; which, being interpreted into the English language, should be described as God's Word, transcribed from the libraries of heaven by the will of Jehovih!

2. That is to say:

3. Zarathustra said: Interpret to me, O Holy One.

4. I'hua'Mazda said: O Pure One, All Pure! Hear thou. I will interpret; write thou.

5. Zarathustra wrote. Then spake I'hua'Mazda to Zarathustra, the All Pure!

6. First, Ormazd was, and He created all created things. He was All; He is All. He was All Round, and put forth hands and wings. Then began the beginning of things seen, and of things unseen.

7. The first best highest place He created was the All Possibility. And the second best highest place He created was the All Good. With Him are all things Possible. With Him are all things Good.

8. Ormazd then created the first best of places, the longest enduring, the Airyana-vaja (etherea), the highest of good creation.

9. The third best created places created Ormazd, which was Haraiti, a high heavenly good place, a Home of Fragapatti, a Creator Son of the heavenly Airyana-vaja, a rescuer of men and spirits from Anra'mainyus, the evil of blood and bone.

10. The fourth best created places created Ormazd, the Creator, which was Gau, the dwelling-place of Sooghda, of heavenly shape and straight limbs and arms, and ample chest, full of music.

11. Out of Mouru, of the regions of Haraiti, came the Voice, created by the Creator Ormazd; came to I'hua-Mazda; and now cometh to thee, Zarathustra, thou All Pure.

12. Fifth best place created the Creator, the Bakhdhi, with lofty standards.

13. Then came Anra'mainyus, the Black Doubt, the Sa-gwan, sowing seeds.

14. After that, the Creator created Tee-Sughi, the reason of man, and turned his eyes inward, that he could see his own soul.

Chapter IX

1. Came to Zarathustra, the All Pure, the voice of I'hua'Mazda, by the hosts of Haraiti: Hear me, O Zarathustra; I am I'hua'Mazda. Hear thou of thy Creator, who created all created things.

2. These are the chief first best places created: First, the earth and the air and the water, and all the living that are on them and in them.

3. Out of darkness, void! Waste, and nothing was, as seeming nothing. And shaped He, the Creator, Ormazd, the shape of things.

4. The living that live; the living that are dead; the first of all that breathed, created the Creator, Ormazd.

5. With legs or wings, or hair or feathers, or naked; to crawl or walk or fly, created the Creator, Ormazd, all the living.

6. To all to live a life; a right to live and die, out of the life of Ormazd gave He them life and death.

7. Then asked Zarathustra, the All Pure, inquiring of I'hua'Mazda, saying: To whom else hast thou these things spoken?

8. I'hua'Mazda said: Since, a million! Before, a million! To more than a thousand millions. Then asked Zarathustra: Tell me one; of one, to one to whom thou hast revealed? And then answered I'hua'Mazda: To Vivanho, the first of men who had words; the first of women who had words. In the first best created days of pure men and pure women I came, I revealed. Then Zarathustra, the All Pure, said:

9. To be all pure; to be all good; to be all wise; to be all holy; to do all good works; what are these?

10. I'hua'Mazda said: These are to hear my voice, O Zarathustra. Then Zarathustra said: To be all bad; to be all foolish; to be all evil thinking; to do evil works, what are these?

11. I'hua'Mazda said: These are not to hear my voice; these are Anra'mainyus, O Zarathustra! Then Zarathustra inquired, saying: Is not the, --not to hear thy voice, a person? Is the, --to hear thy voice, a person?

12. I'hua'Mazda said to Zarathustra, the All Pure: Anra'mainyus was a person; but he is dead: Vivanho is a person, and he liveth to all the holy, to all the good, to all the wise. But to all the evil, to all the bad, to all the foolish, Anra'mainyus is not dead.

13. Then inquired Zarathustra, the All Pure: Whence came All Good; whence came all evil? Who is All Good; who is all evil? Then answered I'hua'Mazda to Zarathustra, saying: Thou perceivest now, all evil must have a name; All Good must have a name. Without names, no man could talk. Behold, I will write for thee, O Zarathustra, thou All Pure. The mark I make first, thou shalt call the All Good, the Creator, the Master, the Light! Here, then, have I made a circle and a cross and a leaf.

14. I'hua'Mazda said to Zarathustra, the All Pure: Whoever looketh upon this mark, whoever seeth it, seeth the Name of All Names, the Creator. Whoever maketh this mark, writeth the name of the All Good; whoever pronounceth this mark, pronounceth the name of Ormazd, the All Master.

15. Then made I'hua'Mazda a circle, and painted four dark corners in it, and called it Anra'mainyus, the Uh-druk, the opposition to All Truth, and All Light, and All Good. And I'hua'Mazda explained to Zarathustra.

16. And, behold, there stood within the circle of evil, the name of All Good, the cross, and it was light, and the corners were black. I'hua'Mazda called this mark Fate, explaining to Zarathustra, the All Pure, saying: These three marks embrace all the created creation; hence, the name of the third one is Fate, from which there is no escape, nor separation, forever.

17. Zarathustra inquired of I'hua'Mazda, saying: Is evil, evil; is good, good? I'hua'Mazda said: Evil is evil to man, but evil is not evil to Ormazd. Good is good to man; but good is not good to Ormazd. Only two conditions are before Ormazd; not evil, nor good; but ripe and unripe. To Ormazd, that which man calleth evil is unripe; to Ormazd, that which man calleth good is ripe.

18. I'hua'Mazda went on explaining, saying: For sake of understanding, O Zarathustra; for sake of not confounding, thou shalt call evil, evil; and good, good. Hear me, then, my son:

19. Without green fruit, none could be ripe; without evil none could be good. So Ormazd created all creation, and called it good; but lo, and behold, there was nothing to do. All things moved not; as if dead, all things were as nothing.

20. Then Ormazd blew His breath outward, and every created thing went into motion. And those at the front were called All Good, and those at the rear were called all evil. Thus created the Creator the Good Creation and the Evil Creation; the I'hua'Mazda and the Anra'mainyus.

Chapter X

1. Then spake I'hua'Mazda to Zarathustra, the All Pure, saying: Thus thy Creator created all things; and the time of the creation was as a time, and a time, and a time, and without measure.

2. I'hua'Mazda said unto Zarathustra: Thus are the created creations; thus were the created creations; thus shall ever be the created creations. The Light of all light is Ormazd; He the Soul of all souls. These are the things seen and things unseen, created by Ormazd, thy Creator: Mi, the Mother Almighty: Then is Voice, the Expression of things, the All Speech, the All Communion, created by Ormazd, thy Creator, and by Mi, the Almighty Mother, a virgin never before conceived, and this was Vivanho, the Son.

3. I'hua'Mazda said to Zarathustra, the All Pure: Behold me, O thou, Zarathustra! Here I make one straight line; and now I make another straight line, and now another, all joined.

4. Then Zarathustra answered, saying: Thou hast made a triangle: What is the meaning, O I'hua'Mazda? Then answered I'hua'Mazda, saying: Three in one, O Zarathustra: Father, Mother, and Son; Ormazd, the ghost of all things; Mi, the seen and unseen, and Vivanho, the expression of things.

5. I'hua'Mazda said unto Zarathustra: These three comprise all things; and all things are but one; nor were there more, nor shall ever be. Nevertheless, O my son, each of these hath a million parts, a thousand million parts, ten hundred thousand million parts. And every part is like unto the whole; thou, O Zarathustra, also. For thou hast within thyself those three attributes, and no more. And each and all created things have these three attributes in them. Thus Ormazd created all the living creation; brothers and sisters created He them, in likeness of himself, with three entities embraced in one; which are, first, the ghost, the soul, which is incomprehensible; second, the beast, the figure, the person, which is called individual; and, third, the expression, to receive and impart.

6. I'hua'Mazda said unto Zarathustra, the All Pure: To receive and to impart; what else hath man; what more desireth he? Then I'hua'Mazda made a picture of a cow, and a picture of a horse, a strong male horse dashing forth. And he asked Zarathustra, saying: Which of these signifieth receiving; which of these signifieth to impart? And Zarathustra perceived.

7. I'hua'Mazda said unto Zarathustra: To be negative is to be a cow; to be positive is to be a horse.

8. Zarathustra inquired of I'hua'Mazda, saying: How many words are there, that can be written words! Thou hast now written many wise words, full of meaning. How many more words are there? Then answered I'hua'Mazda, saying: A thousand words and ten thousand words would not be all; but ten times ten thousand hundred thousand, and those are all the words created.

9. Then Zarathustra, the All Pure, said: Write me down all the words, and explain the meaning of them to me, that I may go before the world teaching All Truth, so that men will no longer be in darkness.

10. Then I'hua'Mazda wrote down tens of hundreds, and thousands of words, and explained the meaning. After that, Zarathustra sat in the bushes for thirty days and thirty nights, neither eating nor drinking nor sleeping. And then I'hua'Mazda revealed the secrets of heaven and earth to him, and commanded him to write them in a book; the which he did; and this was the first book, the Zarathustrian law, the I'hua'Mazdian law.

Chapter XI

1. By this authority then, I, Zarathustra, by the power of I'hua'Mazda, reveal the created creations.

2. Ormazd created a good creation. First, the land and water and firm things; out of the unseen and void created He them. Second, the lights, heavenly; and the heat and the cold everywhere. Third, all living animals, and fish and birds. Fourth, man and woman.

3. Then spake Ormazd through His Son, Vivinho, saying: Speech! Voice! Words! and man and woman were the only talking animals created in all the created world.

4. Ormazd then created death, Anra'mainyus; with seven heads created He him. First vanity (uk), then tattling (owow), then worthlessness (hoe'zee), then lying (ugs'ga), then incurable wickedness (hiss'ce), then evil inventions for evil (bowh-hiss), then king and leader (daevas).

5. Ormazd then created association (clans) by words bringing men together, Haroyu.

6. Ormazd then created habitations (oke'a). And then He created dwelling-places for the Gods, with four good corners and four evil corners, created He them, Varena.

7. And Ormazd created sustenance for the living and the dead, haoma. Then He created the boon of rest, for the weary, haraquaiti. After that he created sweet-smelling and rich-growing pastures, Urva.

8. And Ormazd created combination, which is strength, chakhra. Then power to receive knowledge, haden'amazd.

9. Ormazd then created the holy day (rak). Then He made the four signs of the moon, Uk'git, E'git, Ki'git and M'git, for all holiness.

10. And He said: Six days shalt thou labor, O man; and worship on the seventh, because they are the moon's times.

11. Then Ormazd, the Creator, created the power to live without kings; like the I'hins in the east, and the name of this power He created was Ranha.

12. Then spake I'hua'Mazda to Zarathustra, the All Pure, saying: To attain to Ranha; how to attain to Ranha; this, then, is the holy Mazdian law:

13. Ormazd shall be King, and thou shalt acknowledge no other. He shall be thy All Highest love forever, and above all other loves.

14. Thou shalt disown all other rulers, and kings, and queens, and Lords, and Gods.

15. Thou shalt not bow down in reverence save to Ormazd, thy Creator.

16. Thou shalt covenant thyself to thy Creator every day, and teach thy children to do so also.

17. Thou shalt keep holy the four moon days, for they are the change of watch of the Gods and angels over them.

18. Thou shalt not kill what thy Creator created alive.

19. Thou shalt love thy father next to thy Creator, and obey his voice, and honor thy mother, because she brought thee forth by the will of thy Creator.

20. Thou shalt not suffer thy desires to lead thee after woman.

21. Thou shalt not take that which is another's.

22. Thou shalt not be vain, for nothing is thine.

23. Thou shalt not speak untruth.

24. Thou shalt not talk of thy neighbor behind his back, for Ormazd heareth thee, and the angels will go tell thy neighbor's soul what thou hast said.

25. Thou shalt not be idle or lazy, or thy flesh will become weak and bear down thy soul.

26. Thou shalt not envy, nor harbor hatred against any man nor woman nor child.

27. Thou shalt not reprove any man nor woman for their evil, for they are the Creator's.

28. Thou shalt reprove thine own child, and teach him the right way.

29. Thou shalt not lie with thy wife during pregnancy.

30. Thou shalt not take to wife any of thy kin, save beyond the fifth generation.

31. Thou shalt not commit the self-habit.

32. Thou shalt not desire of thy neighbor more than thou wouldst give.

33. Thou shalt fast one day of the fourth moon all thy life, neither eating fish nor flesh, nor bread nor fruit; nor anything but water shall enter thy mouth.

34. One whole year of thy life thou shalt dwell with the poor, live with the poor, sleep with the poor, begging for alms for the poor.

Chapter XII

1. I'hua'Mazda said unto Zarathustra, the All Pure: Three castes have I made; the first are the I'hins, sacred above all other people, because they keep my commandments; second, the I'huans, more powerful created I them than other people, because by them I will subdue the earth; and third, the druks, the evil people, who will not learn.

2. I'hua'Mazda said to Zarathustra, the All Pure: Remember the caste of men; keep thy blood in the place I created thee; nor shalt thou marry but in the caste I created thee.

3. I'hua Mazda said: A thousand castes I created among the I'huans: The king, the doctor, the magician, the priest, the farmer, the bearer of burdens, the messenger, swift-footed, and for all other occupations under the sun. Each and all within their own castes created I them; nor shall they marry but in the caste I created them.

4. Zarathustra responded to I'hua'Mazda, saying: I will keep thy commandments. Thy seventy commandments, and seven hundred and seven thousand.

5. I will preserve sacred the castes thou hast created, O I'hua'Mazda. And I will teach these holy truths to my children; to my servants, and unto all men.

6. Then I'hua'Mazda wrote all the commandments, as hereabove, and he stooped down and kissed the books, which were of stone and of cloth, saying: This is my holy book. Take it, O Zarathustra, thou All Pure, and go thou forth into all the world, teaching it, and explaining it.

7. Then Zarathustra, the All Pure, stooped down and kissed the book, saying: This is thy holy book, O I'hua'Mazda. I take it; and I will go into all the world, teaching it, and explaining it.

8. Thus was completed the first sacred, most holy book created for mortals. And Zarathustra rose up from his writing, tall and handsome, inquiring of I'hua'Mazda, saying: Whither shall I go first, O master?

9. Then answered I'hua'Mazda, creator of the Ormazdian law, the Zarathustrian law, saying:

10. Take my holy book, the Ormazdian law, the Zarathustrian law, first, to Asha, king of the I'huans, king of Oas, the City of the Sun. Him have I prepared for thee and thy work since the day of his birth; since the day of thy birth, the day I spake to him in thy infancy.

11. Then went forth Zarathustra, strong in faith; and he came to Asha, the king. And the king said unto him: Thou hast tarried so long! Behold, I have cast the horoscope a hundred times, a thousand times. I have proved all the stars in heaven and named them, and made maps of them. And I have measured the power of one star over another star; and the powers of the stars on this world, and the powers of the sun and moon.

12. Yea, I have sent into the great cities of the east, to men of great learning; and to the south and north and west, to men of great learning. And then I sent to the kings of Jaffeth and of Shem; to Bow-gan-ghad; to Bing-thah; and to the great city of Huug-sin, where the great philosopher, Ah-tdong, liveth. And from all of these I have obtained great wisdom.

13. Hear me, then, O Zarathustra; I will speak to thee as if thy philosophy were true; but yet I believe it not: First, then, in all the stars there is nothing but lies; neither mattereth it if a man be born under this star or that star! I am old now and have observed thousands of men, yea, kings and queens, as to whether the stars rule over them, and I declare unto thee that the philosophy of the stars is nothing but lies. Yea, I have searched in mine own self, and I find I am often doing things contrary to my first intentions; but as to the cause, I know not.

14. This also have I discovered; there is one kind of causes that lie with individuals; and there is another kind of causes that lie with kings and kingdoms; but, yet, I perceive that each and every man is bound in his own channel by something stronger than himself. To find the cause of this, I have searched to the extent of all the stars in the firmament, but found not the truth.

15. Now I ask thee, in the name of thy Gods, if thou canst prove this matter to thy king?

16. Then answered Zarathustra, saying: Through my hand hath I'hua'Mazda written a most holy book, explaining many philosophies. This book have I brought unto thee, according to the commandments of my God; read thou it.

17. Then the king took the book and read it; and on the next day Zarathustra came again before the king. The king said: Thy book saith thus and so, but it proveth little. Thy God asserteth he hath done thus and so, and that he created thus and so. First of all, then, I know not if there be a God; second, if there be a God, I know not that he cometh to thee; and third, if he come to thee, and he be a just God, why he cometh not to me. And yet, after all this, for I doubt not thy wisdom will give sufficient answers to these questions, if it be true there are Gods unseen that rule over us, and spirits of the dead that come to us, persuading our souls unconsciously to ourselves, what mattereth it whether we try or not, to obtain truth and wisdom? Shall not all things be left to the spirits and Gods and Lords? Knowest thou not that the ancients believed these things?

18. And yet what of the ancients? Were they not in darkness, and addicted to horrid rites and ceremonies, and murders, and savagery? With our wisdom of disbelief in their religions, have we not attained to great cities and empires? Behold our thousands and tens of thousands of large cities! And do they not all have just reason to be proud? For there is not one city but that its walls and gates are adorned with thousands of the skeletons and skulls of serpents and lions, and the scalps of druks.

19. Then spake I'hua'Mazda to the king, speaking through the voice of Zarathustra, saying: Hear thy God, O king, and be considerate of my words. There are two births unto all men; the first is from the mother's womb, and the second is from the corporeal body. Prior to the first birth, the will and power of the child is nothing as to shaping its own destiny. But prior to the spiritual birth, which is the mortal death, the man hath much to do as to shaping his future destiny in the next world.

20. I declare unto thee, O king, that the corporeal man is, therefore, but half accomplished as to his real life. He is but half his own master; but half the controller of his place and behavior in the mortal world; nevertheless, he is the first half, the first chooser. Think not that spirits and Gods rule men as if they were slaves or toys; for another power also lieth over man, which is neither spirits nor Gods nor stars, nor moon nor sun; but the corporeal surroundings that feed his earthly desires.

21. This is the Ormazdian law; not the corporeal stars, or corporeal earth, or corporeal moon, or corporeal man, ruleth over the spirit; but the subtle, the unseen to mortals, is the cause and ruler of all things.

22. Asha said: O that I could believe this! O that I knew this were true! O that the unseen worlds could be opened up to my understanding! For I perceive there is more power and virtue in thy philosophy than in my decrees. But touching thy book, O Zarathustra, answer thou me this: Who do the people in the world belong to, if not to me, the Sun King? Are not the people mine?

23. I'hua'Mazda said: All belong to Ormazd. Is it not here taught that man shall acknowledge obedience and worship to Ormazd only?

24. Asha said: I so perceive. Answer me this, O Zarathustra: To disown the king and the king's kings; will not this bring anarchy? For will not the rulers declare thy doctrine robbeth them of subjects? To which I'hua'Mazda suffered Zarathustra to reply. He said:

25. Is it not hard for a man not to have the privilege to choose his own master? Behold, they are now impressed into war; yea, thou keepest standing armies, trained in the labor of death. And this for the glory of the Sun Kingdom. Now hear me, O king, for I am now speaking on my own accord, and no God is speaking through me. And I declare unto thee, I have attained power to go in soul into the unseen worlds and behold with mine own eyes how it is with the souls of the dead. And I declare unto thee there are great torments for the wicked. I have seen them in hell, with walls of fire going up around them day and night; suffocating fires of brimstone, from which they cannot escape. And those slain in war, both those that are for the king, and those against the king, are equally cast into ceaseless torments, and even kings and queens with them, where all are wailing and gnashing their teeth, and cursing; and in their madness, doing wickedly unto others with all their might.

26. The king said: If it be that thou canst go into heaven and hell, it must be true thou canst go to places on the corporeal earth in the same way. Prove thou this to me, and I will believe all thou hast said. Then Zarathustra said: Tell me whither I shall go, that I may convince thee, O king?

27. Ashar said: Go thou to the tower of the horoscope and find the words on the calendar.

28. Then spake I'hua'Mazda, saying: Have I not said, spirit cannot be proved but to spirit! Have I not said I am I'hua'Mazda; and Zarathustra hath said he is Zarathustra. But this thou canst not see. Behold, thou shalt witness now thine own craft. Here returneth Zarathustra.

29. Then spake Zarathustra, saying: Thou saidst to me: Go to the tower of the horoscope and find the words on the calendar. Lo, I have been there, and am already returned before thee. These, then, are the words of the calendar: To-ka, Seis, ctvai tnong, biang loo-sin-gooh wotchich; an porh, an oot, an dhi, an git.

30. Asha said: This is true. But how shall I not determine that thou gatheredest not the calendar from my heart? For I had the knowledge in my heart since sunrise. Then answered Zarathustra, saying: Try me once again; yea, thou shalt ask me for some toy of thine, and I will go fetch it.

31. Asha said: Behold, when I was a boy I let fall into the river betwixt the cliffs, at the outer wall, a golden case; go, thou, bring it.

32. Then spake I'hua'Mazda: Two conditions belong to all men, belief and unbelief. They are as seeds, planted in the soul of men whilst he is yet in his mother's womb; and when he is born forth into the world, they begin to grow within him. If man favor one only, it will grow at the expense of the other. Because of unbelief in man, he searched after truth and knowledge; but because of belief in man, he findeth happiness; but the latter may lead to stupidity, and the former to cruelty. It is a wise man, therefore, that keepeth these two talents evenly balanced.

33. Now even whilst I'hua'Mazda spake, the long-lost golden case fell at the king's feet, and it was yet dripping with water. The king examined it, and then exclaimed: This is true. And yet, if there be spirits and Gods, how shall I determine which one brought this? May it not have been an evil spirit as well as a good one?

34. Then spake I'hua'Mazda, saying: Have I not said: I will show thee thine own craft in finding some other reason than the right one?

35. Asha said: O ye Gods, cannot ye heal me of my unbelief? My judgment showeth me I am diseased in my heart. O that my mother had been a believing woman before I was born! Tell me, O Zarathustra, or I'hua'Mazda, whoever thou art, for I perceive thou art not like any man under the sun, tell me what I shall do, that I may become thy servant?

36. I'hua'Mazda said: On the morrow at sunrise I will come to thee, with Zarathustra, and I will tell thee many things.

Chapter XIII

1. When the time had come, on the morrow, the king said: I have not slept. All night I was as one burnt with a fever; for thy wondrous words and thy miracles have well nigh turned my judgment upside down.

2. I'hua'Mazda said: Because a man cannot understand a thing, shall he cry out, Miracle! Now I declare I have done no miracle; nor hath Zarathustra. Yet to mortals these things are miracles! If so, is not a man a miracle to himself? Is not procreation a miracle?

3. This, then, I have found, O Asha, what man is not accustomed to, he calleth a miracle; after he hath seen a matter frequently, he calleth it natural law. What man hast thou found that comprehendeth the first cause of anything under the sun?

4. Why, then, shall man waste his time in unprofitable research? Is it not wiser that man labor to raise his fellow-men out of misery and darkness, than to gratify his own personal desire for great learning?

5. The king said: Thou reasonest well. And yet, what learned good man hast thou found who will not say: Yea, to do good is a pretty philosophy! And there endeth his aspiration. What, then, can I say, or what canst thou say, that they words will not be barren of fruit?

6. I'hua'Mazda said: Thou art this day king of all the world; nor is there any other kingdom but payeth thee tribute. Whatsoever thou desirest is as a law unto all other kingdoms. For that reason am I come unto thee. Yea, thou wert born to this end. Hear, then, the voice of thy God, and thou shalt do that which is good for thy soul and good for all other people.

7. Asha said: Almost am I tempted to accede to thy wishes ere thou hast revealed; but yet hear thou the voice of thy king; what matters it to me about the good of other people? Even if it be proven that great men have souls that live after death, it is not yet proven that the druks have souls also. If they have souls, then heaven must be a stupid place indeed. For thou hast not shown me that man obtaineth wisdom by dying, nor is it reasonable that he should do so. Rather tell me, O Zarathustra, how I may get rid of the world; for of what use is life at most?

8. I'hua'Mazda said: Because thou rejoicest not in thy life, thou perceivest that thy philosophy is deficient, and not that the world is. For I will yet prove to thee that thou art overflowing with happiness. To believe the things I reveal and have faith therein, is to become happy. Then the king answered him, saying: To believe, there is the matter. I declare unto thee, there is not a grain of belief in my heart. How, then, can it grow?

9. I'hua'Mazda said: He who can say, I can think of an All Highest, hath the seed of everlasting life in him. He who liveth the all highest he can; he who thinketh of the All Highest; he who talketh to the All Highest; he who trieth to perceive from the standpoint of the All Highest, quickly transcendeth belief and becometh a very God in faith. He becometh master of himself, and feedeth himself with happiness, even as men feed themselves with bread.

10. Asha said: What wouldst thou have me do? To which I'hua'Mazda said: With the people thou hast greater authority than a God, greater than miracles. Thy decrees are all powerful. Thou shalt have a copy of this book written on stone and cloth, one copy for every sub-kingdom in thy dominions. And thou shalt send it to them with a sword and a serpent, saying to them: Receive ye this book, for it is a Holy Book, the All Highest Law, the I'hua'Mazdian law, the Zarathustrian law, the Ormazdian law. And it shall be a rule and guide unto you and your kingdom forever. And every king in the kingdom of the sun shall serve one year in living with the poor, carrying the alms-bowl for sacrifices unto Ormazd.

11. And when thou hast sent this decree forth into all the world, thou shalt thyself give up thy kingdom; and thou shalt give to the poor all thy gold and silver and cases, and all thy treasures whatsoever, having nothing left unto thyself but the clothes that cover thee. And thou shalt go and live with the poor, carrying the alms-bowl thyself in the streets of Oas. And of the food thou gatherest in the bowl, thou shalt give the choicest parts to the poor, saying: This is the sacrifice of the many given unto thee; eat ye of it, for it is the very body and blood of Ormazd, our Father in heaven! But the poorest of all that is in the bowl shall be thy portion.

12. At the end of one year, thou shalt go about preaching the Ormazdian law, commanding the cessation of war and the abandonment of evil, and the acceptance of righteousness.

13. The king said: What canst thou promise me if I do all these things? Then I'hua'Mazda suffered Zarathustra to answer him: He said, Nothing! Did the Creator ask this, before He made the world? If thou desirest to approach thy Creator, do thou like unto Him. Nor is it my place, nor the angels' place, nor the place of God, to promise thee anything. Thou art not my servant; and thou shalt serve only the Master, All Light (Jehovih).

14. And as I have taught thee, so shalt thou go and teach others, explaining the Ormazdian law.

15. Asha said: Do the Gods in heaven give rewards for good works and sacrifices done on earth? Zarathustra said: He that doeth good works and maketh sacrifices unto Ormazd hath his reward. For it is by this means that the soul of man becometh strong, and especially strong for the first and second resurrections in the next world.

16. Asha said: To be with thee, O Zarathustra, and feast on the wisdom of thy words, I would make any sacrifice. Wilt thou go with me amongst the poor?

17. I'hua'Mazda said: Nay, thou shalt go alone. And for company thou shalt pray to thy Creator, and make songs of praise unto Him, nor think no more of thyself than as if thou wert dead.

18. The king said: It is said of mad-men that they think they are not mad. How, then, am I to know but I am mad? Will not the world so adjudge me if I obey thy commandments? And cannot the world judge me better than I can judge myself? It was said of the ancients that Sughdha obsessed old men and weak-hearted women; and it was for that reason Osiris came and slew him. If there be Gods in heaven, as thou sayest, mayst not thou have come to slay Osiris.

19. I'hua'Mazda said: Thou art a great multiplier of arguments; but in all thy speech I have seen nothing that planned the resurrection of men from darkness into light. And is not this the All Highest that man should aim at?

20. Asha said: I am done. Thy judgment is greater than mine. All thou hast commanded of me I will do. From this time forth I will serve only Ormazd, the Creator. Thy God, O Zarathustra, shall be my God. Thy ways shall be my ways. Henceforth I will argue forever on the side of the Creator. And touching all matters, I will first ask myself what I shall say that would be like thy God would say it; and what I shall do that will fulfill the Ormazdian law.

Chapter XIV

1. Asha, King of Oas, the City of the Sun, King of the Sun, ruler over the whole corporeal world, owner and possessor of all mortals, men, women and children, commander of all flesh, descended from the Sun Gods thousands of years, and whose forefathers were the fathers of all living creatures, Highest of men, and by whose good grace the inhabitants of the earth are permitted to live, and whose decrees are the standard of all things, Maker of Justice and Maker of Truth, and whom none dare question, and on whose word the sun and moon and stars bow down, greeting:

2. To the kings and queens of the east and west and north and south, over all the cities in the world, rulers in the temples of the stars (observatories), slayers of dragons, and slayers of lions, and slayers of tigers, and of men and of women and of children and serpents, honored in the golgothas, and by millions of cowering slaves, owners of thousands of wives, and whose boats sail in lakes of mortal blood, and whose crowns are honored by ten thousand men slain every year, sworn on the flesh of the thigh, whose words are life and death; and most obedient to the Sun King, I command:

3. First, that there is an Ormazd, Creator, Person! Whose Soul is in all the world, and in all things in the firmament above; Who is Father; Who is the Light of light, Creator of darkness and men, Who is forever The Going Forth; Who is Cause of causes; larger than all things seen and unseen; the Power of all power.

4. Second, I'hua'Mazda, His Only Begotten Son, born of the Virgin Mi (the Substance Seen). Pure and All Holy; Master of Men; Person of Word; Essence of Ormazd revealed in Word; Savior of men; Holder of the keys of heaven; through Whose Good Grace only the souls of men can rise to Nirvana, the High Heaven:

5. Third, Zarathustra, A man, All Pure, conceived by a Virgin, and born wise, being one with I'hua'Mazda, who is one with Ormazd. Of Whom the word saith: Doeth He without miracle. The raising of the dead; healing the sick by the laying on of hands; whose word of command bringeth forth ripe wheat, full grown, in a day; and doing all things that the ancients accredited to the Gods as miracles, but which the Ormazdian law showeth to be Natural Law to any one who is All Pure, and who draweth power from Ormazd, the Creator, and His holy angels.

6. Fourth, A Book, holy and sacred, revealed by I'hua'Mazda to Zarathustra, the All Pure; and written on stone and cloth, revealing All Wisdom, which is styled, the Ormazdian law, the I'hua'Mazdian law, the Zarathustrian law, which is the All Highest Law in All the world, approved by Asha, I, the king of kings!

7. Fifth, by ten thousand learned scribes in my command, written a copy of The Holy Book, and herewith sent with commands by the King of the Sun! That this book shall be the All Highest law in all my sub-kingdoms, and that all my kings shall believe it and command the same of their slaves. Nor shall any man stand up against this, my decree, and live; nor shall any man alter one word or sign in this Holy Book; nor disbelieve one word it containeth.

8. And my kings and sub-kings; and my queens and sub-queens, shall obey all the commandments, even as I obey them; nor shall any man, or woman, or child, question these things, as to whether they be the All Highest, or whether there be error in whatsoever cometh from my hand; for by my decree they are made All Truth!

9. For I was raised up to the High Estate by Ormazd, for this purpose; and not one in the whole world hath power like unto me.

10. And ye, to whom these holy words come, shall make oath on a serpent and a sword to obey these, my commandments, now and forever.

11. Thus did Asha send officers to carry the books he had made to the kings and queens in the east and west and north and south; and they that he sent were men of great learning, and of the highest caste; and they took with them serpents and swords, and gave them as commanded, exacting an oath from all who received them.